All Sergio McClain did was win championships

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By DAVE ALLENOF THE JOURNAL STAR

Journal Star

By DAVE ALLENOF THE JOURNAL STAR

Posted Mar. 20, 2014 at 10:51 PM

By DAVE ALLENOF THE JOURNAL STAR
Posted Mar. 20, 2014 at 10:51 PM

Editor’s note: Twenty years ago, Manual freshman started every game of the Rams’ postseason run to the Class AA state basketball championship. He would continue to do so the rest of his career, becoming the only Illinois schoolboy to go 32-0 in postseason play. Now, he’ll enter the Greater Peoria Sports Hall of Fame.

Any conversation about the career of former Manual great Sergio McClain begins and ends the same way. Winning. Not just winning games, but championships.

McClain did nothing but win championships as a prep star as he helped lead Manual to Class AA state championships all four years of high school, from 1993-97. Throw in pre-high school titles at Roosevelt and Christ Lutheran; he was on six consecutive state championship teams.

“I’m a winner, period,” McClain said. “I do what it takes to win, and that’s all that matters to me. Too many people get caught up with other things in this game of basketball. The only thing that was important to me was to win and win championships.”

The 1997 Illinois Mr. Basketball will be one of the inductees at the 33rd Greater Peoria Sports Hall of Fame Banquet on April 12.

“It’s an honor to be in the same company as a lot of other athletes who have earned that reputation in Peoria,” McClain said. “It’s great to be associated with them not just in ability but on a mental scale of being a strong competitor and a winner.”

McClain and his Manual teammates did that during the 1990s, when Peoria basketball was at its best.

“I think if you look at it, it was a very strong timeline of

Division I athletes,” McClain said. “At that time, there were a lot of guys that really put Peoria on the map nationally. All of us went on trips together, represented Peoria, played AAU and won championships together.”

The 6-foot-4 McClain was never the biggest guy on the court, but could post up just about anyone if needed. He wasn’t the best ball handler, but could go coast-to-coast if needed. And McClain wasn’t the best pure shooter, but he could hit a big shot from anywhere — if needed.

“That’s what kept me on the court,” he said. “I could do anything, not everything great, but effectively, and I was a producer.”

A three-time all-state selection, McClain continued his basketball career at Illinois, where he and Manual teammates Marcus Griffin and Frank Williams helped the Illini to a pair of Big Ten titles and the Elite Eight in the 2001 NCAA tournament.

Page 2 of 3 - “There are people who are like when you put blinders on a horse, they only see one thing,” McClain said. “They see basketball as a statistic and are concerned with what people score and think they are the great ones. I never believed in that. That’s not the way you measure athletes.

“I could put the ball in the basket, but I was unselfish. I was a student of the game. I wanted to learn the game, keep learning, and I understood what it took to win.”

Manual went to the Class AA state tournament, with a second and two thirds in six of the eight seasons, before McClain entered school. Then as a freshman, he helped win a title in the final year that Dick Van Scyoc coached.

“It was great to do it with Van,” said McClain, who was part of 121 wins in his four years. “It was special for me that I won at Manual. I was always a Manual fan and followed the history of the program. I was all about Manual basketball back when I was 6 or 7. That was a program. I was proud to represent Manual and the South Side of Peoria the way I did.”

The next three championships came with his dad, Wayne McClain, as head coach.

“That was special to do it together because we both put in the work,” Sergio said. “Nobody saw what was going on behind closed doors. He was one person who was behind me and I was always behind him. A lot of people criticized my game.

“But he was always supportive. He was always behind me, telling me I could be successful and pushing me. He was the one who saw the work I put in and the one who saw how important it was for me to get better. He was the one who was there and with me 6-8 hours a day to train me, even if it was 98 degrees I would be in the gym. He was the one who saw me running up Western (Avenue) hill and practice mental exercises. It was all to make me the player I was and the person I was.”

McClain was never about being the player who scored the most points, but the one who won the most.

“Basketball is about winning and winning championships,” he said. “And with that in mind, I am the best. Nobody did it like I did and we did it when high school basketball was at its toughest. And no one will ever be able to take that away from me.”

McClain branched out from basketball to business owner.

Page 3 of 3 - He’s on his father’s staff at Champaign Central, has a consulting firm called Ill-Bois that helps former Illinois athletes, and a nonprofit organization that has offered after-school programs in Champaign the last three years.

He also got involved in the music scene three years ago. As King Sergio, he pays respect to his hometown and his college.

“It’s definitely hip-hop, but not the kind most people are accustomed to,” McClain said. “There is very much a spiritual aspect. I want to use it as a motivational tool. I’m very spiritual and truly believe that I’ve had God’s protection and he’s guided me on the right path. It’s all about building his kingdom.”

Music producer Marco Little of Grit-it Entertainment has been involved in McClain’s recording career.

“He’s very talented with lyrics,” Little said. “He’s really good with words. He’s very spiritual. He wants to write about spirituality and family and positive messages.

“He called and we really hit it off. I didn’t know who he was because I’m not into sports. His music falls into the hip-hop category but is very different, especially lyric-wise. It is really important to him to produce a positive message. He came in and knew exactly what he wanted. I think he can go pretty far.”

That wouldn’t be a surprise because McClain always has.

“It’s very big to me to represent the South Side,” he said. “A lot of people never get to go anywhere and basketball allowed me to see the world. I’m proud of where I came from. If you can make it in Peoria, you can make it anywhere.”